Great Skate Glendale

Did you like to go skating when you were a kid? Great Skate in Glendale will make you feel like an 8 year old again. Perhaps a sore 8 year old after you are done skating!

I had been wanting to go skating for years, but with having three kids back to back, I really didn’t have much of an opportunity to do it. Plus, when they kids were little, skating was pretty much out of the question. One of my good friends and I were talking about skating and she said she had been going with her friends to Great Skate and with her kids. So, for Mother’s Day, I told my husband it was the only thing I wanted to do.

And, sometimes when there is just one thing mom wants to do, the trip can get a bit crazy! It took us about an hour plus to get ready and get on the road, and then we had bathroom stops. I was worried we were never going to get there.

Great Skate in Glendale has certain blocks of time for skating, which was why I was getting quite impatient. I wanted to go to the Mother’s Day skate on the Sunday afternoon time that I saw advertised. There are also two other locations that look like they are owned by the same parent company in Mesa and Chandler, and each has their own Facebook page and email list. I highly suggest getting on both their email list and their Facebook page because they have some amazing discounts. I usually do a screenshot of the coupon for later!

Great Skate is located at 10054 N 43rd Avenue in Glendale, which is really close to the Phoenix boarder. You can’t see it from the street, but there is a sign. It is behind Target if you are coming from Peoria Avenue.

Make sure you don’t park in the lot for Nana’s Preschool. They will tow your car. The spaces in front of the skate rink were very narrow, so we parked against the side of the building.

Adults need to fill a waiver. It is a blue paper card and the table was set up outside. Customers also pay outside for your skate time and your skates (if you are renting). If you need coins for a locker, you will also need to purchase them outside. Each time you open the locker it costs .75 and you get a key. Don’t lose the key!

The counter where you pay. You can also get coins for games as well. If you are renting skates or inline skates, you will get a ticket to bring to the counter. If you have little ones that need the skate assists (will show a video of that later), also purchase that outside. We needed three of those!

I took the picture of the skates at the end when we were returning them, so that is why it looks crazy. It is otherwise extremely neat! Wrist guards are required in order to skate and are provided at no extra charge.

Wristguards exhibit!

This is the prize counter. There are video games and assorted prize games outside of the rink that you can play.

I didn’t take a picture of the bathrooms, but they are sort of near this area. The bathroom is a bit narrow and has a cement floor, so be careful.

There is a cafe near the prize area that has a variety of treats. We got a pitcher of lemonade and my Husband skated with it over the carpet without spilling a drop! Amazing!

There were games surrounding the floor and lots of picnic style benches throughout the venue. The picnic tables kind of reminded me of the type of table used in elementary school lunch rooms!

Lockers are located in many locations around the facility. This was at the far wall and there was also another set by the cafe area. They easily fit our families shoes, my pocketbook and camera inside. Each time you open it, it costs 0.75, so make sure you have some quarters or grab them from the outside before you skate. It was nice to have this so we could all be on the skate floor. It wasn’t terribly busy on Mother’s Day, but I can see it being very busy on other days.

You aren’t supposed to have your phone on you when skating, which I didn’t see until after I shot this video. But, you can see the area of the skate floor and the “Skatemates”.

Staff was amazingly friendly and every time my kiddos fell down (it was a lot!), they checked in on them. Other skaters often also helped them out, which was amazing since we were outnumbered. The “referee” was also the DJ and there were a few games that were played, time for speedier skaters only, backwards skaters, skate dancing and four corners. The skate rental clerk also came around with glow sticks, candy and a pop the balloon game (all had an extra cost). The staff was super busy and friendly and really made Great Skate more fun.

After a few times around with the skatemate, Munchie ditched it. He clomped around like a champ!

There are different music and skating sessions, and Great Skate in Glendale also offers Stem Classes, camps, skating classes, group skates and more. You will want to check out their schedule before heading over to see what is available. The music on Sunday was a mix of Raggaetone, Rap (kid appropriate) and pop.

The empty skating floor. They use lots of fun lights to light it up, make it glow or just have the regular lights on. In the corner is the DJ booth, but there is a sign that says “no requests”.

If you are looking for an indoor place to exercise with your kids, this is an amazing place to get back to your youth. They also offer birthday parties and lots of teen nights as well!

Comments

We just went there for a school fundraiser and it was fantastic! My kids had never been skating before (13, 5 and 4 years old) and I haven’t been skating since high school (20+years ago) but everyone loved it and can’t wait to go back again!!